After Turning Off the Television

Tom Verlaine : Breakin' In My Heart

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In September of 1979 former Television frontman Tom Verlaine released his self-titled debut album. With three Television era songs, the album scored an A- from Village Voice critic Robert Christgau who wrote 

In which he deploys backup choruses and alien instruments, the kind of stuff that bogs down all solo debuts, with modest grace and wit. And continues to play guitar like Captain Marvel. Neater than Television, as you might expect, but almost as visionary anyway, and a lot more confident and droll. Inspirational Verse: "My head was spinning/My oh my." 

The best track may be the final one. "Breakin' In My Heart" is a Television-era live favorite with the B-52's Ricky Wilson adding guitar. The album ranked #15 on the NME album poll. On the Village Voice Pazz and Jop critics poll, the album finished #14.

Richard Lloyd : Misty Eyes

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In the meantime Verlaine's Television bandmate, Richard Lloyd, released his debut album Alchemy on Elektra. Joined by Television bassist Fred Smith, Feelies drummer Vinny DeNunzio and future Bongos guitarist James Maestro, the album's title track was a local FM hit in New York City. Christgau gave the album a B+, writing:

Lloyd really has his pop down, and this record never fails to cheer me when it comes on-the songwriting and guitar textures are consistently tuneful and affecting. I don't mind that he always sings off-key, either--part of the charm of his pop is how loose it is. But the voice is so whacked-out that even if you'd never seen Lloyd lurching around a stage or matching magic with Tom Verlaine you'd sense that where for the Shoes or the Beat teen romance is a formal stricture, for him it's an evasion--he's just not telling us what he knows.

Happenstance

Chris Stamey and the dB's : (I Thought) You Wanted to Know

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In the Summer of 1978, Chris Stamey called upon some North Carolina high school friends to join him in New York City for some gigs to promote a new single on his own Car Records label. He needed drums and bass so he called his band the dB's. Will Rigby was the drummer. Gene Holder played bass.

The single, "(I Thought) You Wanted to Know", was actually written by Richard Lloyd of Television while Lloyd was in the hospital recovering from a heroin overdose. Elektra Records forbid Lloyd from singing lead vocals or promoting the single. 

In his newly published book, A Spy in the House of Loud, Stamey writes about all of his Zelig like encounters in New York City. Music lovers of a certain era will especially love this book. 

About the single with Lloyd, which was recorded for about $400 he says:

It came out great, electric guitars alternately swirling and droning, with a punchy, somewhat Stonesy rhythm part and a lead theme that made a meal out of a simple major scale. The questing lyric was decorated with surprise Jeff Beck–like dive-bombing in the middle; overcompressed low piano octaves, like those of Jimi Hendrix’s “Crosstown Traffic”; a vibraslap; and one of Lloyd’s trademark ascending-to-the-heavens Stratocaster melodies to close it out. Though it was certainly over the top in places, the fun we had creating it shone through.

Ork Records has managed to finally release the version with Lloyd singing.

Fans of the dB's will note there is just one member missing: Stamey's oldest friend, Peter Holsapple. He would join in the fall, around he same time as the release of his own three song single "Big Black Truck", initially cut with Stamey's on and off again New York City bandmate Alex Chilton. Holsapple would play organ at first before joining Stamey as a songwriter, guitarist and vocalist with the band. 

The dB's would become one of those bands the cool people would know, producing power pop that would bridge the gap between Big Star and R.E.M., with whom Holsapple would later tour.